Reckoning? Really?

As we consider this new year in which we have embarked, we can consider spiritual goals - where God might be taking us individually and collectively in our Christian walk. Ephesians 4 address this, reminding us the following the leadership of the Spirit and human leadership He has anointed...
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The enemy will use any number of devices at his disposal to attempt to diminish the effect of the Church. He will use complacency in order to stall our spiritual growth and will attempt to divide believers in order to keep us from having the indelible impact that God desires. We have to guard against divisiveness and distraction and consider the condition of our heart, making sure that our love for Christ and desire for growth in Him is paramount. 

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We are called, as believers in Christ, who have called upon the name of Jesus, to be part of one body. 1st Corinthians 12 addresses our connectivity as the Church:
18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be?
20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.
21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

There's a phrase that seems to be making the rounds that, quite honestly, I hope I don't see again -  the phrase is "evangelical reckoning." The Atlantic has used that phrase more than onCe to describe the support of evangelical Christians for Donald Trump.  Now, USA Today has unwisely published an opinion piece that proclaims, "Evangelicals face a reckoning: Donald Trump and the future of our faith."

I have criticized so-called, self-proclaimed Christian leaders for taking what they perceive as dirty laundry regarding the Church and taking it into secular culture.  The writer of this article, Ed Stetzer, who leads the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, has decided to harshly criticized his fellow believers for the sin of supporting Donald Trump.  He writes:

It's tough to admit we were wrong. Now, many evangelicals are seeing President Donald Trump for who he is, but more need to see what he has done to us.

It’s time for an evangelical reckoning.

While giving a tip of the hat for Trump's support of pro-life causes and religious liberty, which are reasons that he engendered evangelical votes, even in the latest election, Stetzer comes unhinged when he writes:

He has burned down the Republican Party, emboldened white supremacists, mainstreamed conspiracy theorists and more.

Yet of greater concern for me is the trail of destruction he has left within the evangelical movement. Tempted by power and trapped within a culture war theology, too many evangelicals tied their fate to a man who embodied neither their faith nor their vision of political character.

He writes that "all of us have failed to foster healthy political discipleship. The foundation of our reckoning was laid far before Trump. Committed to reaching the world, the evangelical movement has emphasized the evangelistic and pietistic elements of the mission. However, it has failed to connect this mission to justice and politics." And, this indictment: "The result of this discipleship failure has led us to a place where not only our people but also many of our leaders were easily fooled and co-opted by a movement that ended with the storming of the U.S. Capitol."  News flash: Donald Trump, because of the reasons that I highlighted earlier, has received support from the Christian community.  There are numerous Christian leaders who believe that there were irregularities in the Presidential election - certainly a number of them traveled to Washington to show support for Mr. Trump.  Was his message "perfect," as he claims?  Perhaps not - but this gives critics of the President and the Christians who supported him an opportunity to harshly criticize and even to shut them down. No wonder in some circles connected to evangelical Christianity, there is talk of a "purge" regarding the right to communicate opinion. 

Tom Gilson, writing at The Stream, voices his respect for Stetzer, but believes that the content and tone of the article was a bridge too far.  He says there is a reckoning, but perhaps more in line with what I just described:

There is a reckoning come our way. It’s coming for all of America, but especially, I expect, for followers of Jesus Christ.

Stetzer thinks it’s because of pro-Trump evangelicals. I think there will be a lot more to it than that. The Left is coming into unprecedented power in America, and believers will feel the heat of its anti-Christian hostility. We will need to be united as we have never been before — which is why I must speak to Ed Stetzer, and to other NeverTrump evangelicals. There has been hostility between evangelicals on account of Donald Trump. It must stop. We need to unite. Now.

Gilson continues:

I speak as an evangelical who spent 36 years as a fully supported missionary. I am as always fully committed to the truth of Jesus Christ. I spent much of the Trump era studying and writing about Him, and if it came to it, by God’s grace I would be willing to die for Christ.

Some evangelicals may have sold out for power. Not those with whom I work here at The Stream, though. Not those I worship with at church, either, and not even those I connect with on social media. I am absolutely not interested in selling out, any more than Ed Stetzer or any other NeverTrump evangelical. We follow Jesus Christ. That is the basis for our unity, now as always.

That's, to me, a much more accurate picture than that presented by the head of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, which is currently under investigation by the denomination's Executive Committee.  Russell Moore wrote this diatribe:

If I were the President, I would resign. If I were the Vice President, I would assemble the cabinet in accordance with the 25th Amendment. If I were a Member of Congress, I would vote to impeach. And if I were a United States senator, I would vote to convict. And I would be willing, if necessary, to lose my seat to do so. As a matter of fact, I am willing, if necessary, to lose this seat.

Moore doesn't seem to understand that Christians can support a political candidate without worshipping him and can't separate the large crowds of people, including Christians, who attended rallies in Washington last week from the lawless group of extremists who invaded the Capitol while lawmakers did their constitutional duty.  He writes:

The sight of “Jesus Saves” and “God Bless America” signs by those violently storming the Capitol is about more than just inconsistency. It is about a picture of Jesus Christ and of his gospel that is satanic. The mixing of the Christian religion with crazed and counter-biblical cults such as Q-Anon is telling the outside world that this is what the gospel is. That’s a lie, and it is blasphemous against a holy God.

Look around us, five years into this experiment. Every family I know is divided over this personality. Every church I know is too. Friendships are broken, for almost everyone I know. And, most importantly, every survey shows that the church is hemorrhaging the next generation because they believe that evangelicalism is a means to an end to this political movement...

Every family?  Every church?  Friendships are broken?  If that is true, then, we need to heed the words of Tom Gilson and realize that we are part of one body, unite, and move forward.  It should never have come to this, but, the enemy is working overtime to divide us from within and to silence us from without.  We need each other, and running to the secular press is not the answer. 

Every day, believers in Christ need a reckoning, not in the political sense that Stetzer and Moore are promoting; but in a personal sense.  We are called to be disciples - speaking out on cultural issues, even supporting political candidates, are part of that mix, but our primary focus is to follow Christ and to seek to make His love known to a world that is looking for answers.  We can become easily distracted, but the Bible will keep us in focus.